December’s employment report has just been called another month. Stronger than expected growthWith benefits coming from many different parts of the US economy.

Last month, health care and social assistance jobs saw the largest increase for the third month in a row, adding 69,500 to payrolls. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Including private education, as some economists do, growth in the health care group would have increased by 80,000.

Retail trade, which added 43,400 jobs, and leisure and hospitality, up 43,000, posted the second and third largest gains last month. Retail trade jobs Inside or outside a store, from informationals to street vendors to vending machines, can sell to consumers or other businesses and include after-sales services, such as repair and installation, the BLS says. .

Government jobs rounded out the top four, after a gain of 33,000 in December.

“Recently, job growth has been much less focused in government and health care,” Julia Polk, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, told CNBC. “Now, it looks like it might be expanding.”

Retail development, a sharp change from Heavy losses in Novemberwas bolstered by employment growth in key categories. Specifically, retailers of clothing, accessories, footwear and jewelry saw an increase of 23,000 positions, while general merchandise retailers and health and personal care retailers gained 13,000 and 7,000 jobs, respectively. According to BLS data.

The increase “isn’t just a blip,” Pollack said, adding that it reflects other data that show a backdrop of improvement in the sector.

For example, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ December Texas Retail Outlook Survey showed that Accelerating retail sales activity. The sales index, which measures state retail activity, rose to its highest level since late 2021.

“Retailers are more excited about 2025 and on the back of a strong consumer base,” Pollack said. “We will probably see more movement in the housing market soon.”

In contrast to the strength in retail trade, manufacturing – which saw substantial growth in November – contracted in December, shedding 13,000 jobs.

Additionally, mining and logging, and wholesale trade reversed course last month from November. Mining and logging employment fell by 3,000, while wholesale trade fell further, shedding 3,500 positions, after seeing modest gains two months earlier.

Apart from professional and business services, financial activities remained bright spots. Those two groups were among nine of the 13 sectors that added jobs last month.

“We’re seeing an improvement in total vehicle sales, Americans are buying big tickets again, [and] Businesses are also buying vehicles,” Polk said. “These trends have been increasing over the last few months. It was taking some time for them to filter into the labor market, but this report suggests that … a recovery may be starting.”